Gargoyle Rising

by Meraki P. Lyhne

  An old spell book helped him breathe life into a Gargoyle. With its rise come new enemies, but also the possibility of new friends.

  At age eleven, Meino buried his dad next to where they had buried his mom less than six months earlier. All alone in the world, he seeks out the Gargoyles and uses his dad’s spell book to bring one to life. But he doesn’t understand the magic he’s using, and he can’t finish the spell. For the next twelve years, his dreams are haunted by the lonely cries of the Gargoyle. As an adult, Meino tries the spell again to get rid of the nightmares. This time it works—but once the magic is alive, it attracts the attention of the New Knight Templars, who want to destroy the Gargoyle.

  Nathan and Lucien have settled into a routine at the school where Nathan is studying to be able to help the Order. Just as life is calming down, it all takes a turn. News that a protégé is in danger and that Nathan’s beloved Professor Nigel Gershman has died is just the beginning. Once again, Nathan and Lucien are moved about to assist the Order, and new magic brings out a hidden enemy.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Gargoyle Rising

  Copyright © 2017 Meraki P. Lyhne

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-1206-7

  Cover art by Carmen Waters

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

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  www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com

  Gargoyle Rising

  Chronicles of an Earned Book 6

  By

  Meraki P. Lyhne

  Chapter One

  Coming up on November, Nathan enjoyed the fact that he could share breakfast with Lucien. Lucien would bring them food from somewhere in the world while Nathan got ready for class. It was almost eight in the morning before Lucien would be swallowed up by shadow, and Nathan hated not having the last minutes with him, as class would start before that. But they made the best of their mornings. Daylight time would end soon, and he’d be walking himself to school. But not the first morning after the week-long break. They had another week together eating breakfast.

  “What are you smiling at, mon coeur?”

  Nathan looked up from his efforts at buttering a bread roll. “I was smiling at the fact that you can walk me to class for the whole week before daylight time ends.”

  Lucien smiled and bit into his own bread.

  “And I was wondering whether we should go prowl a bookstore this weekend.”

  Lucien brushed crumbs from his fingers and looked at the books stacked next to the bed. “You don’t think you have your hands full so far?”

  “I meant for you.”

  “Yeah, but we usually read together, and even I, who can’t sleep, am close to nodding off to some of those.” Lucien pointed at the stacks by the bed.

  Nathan grimaced. “Let’s just hope Ms. Powell doesn’t come up with anything more boring than the Greek vase pictures.”

  Lucien scoffed, biting into his food.

  “And we’re almost done with that series you found,” Nathan continued, motioning to the book on the nightstand.

  “No, we’re not. There’s one more on the shelf.”

  Nathan looked, finding the red one. “Fantastic.” That would be the third of Lucien’s chosen series they’d finish, and Nathan had to admit he had revised his opinion on fictional genres.

  “But I still want to go out this weekend.”

  “Even better.” Nathan smiled. “You could prowl for a good place while I’m bored enough to drool in the books the first two periods.”

  “Bored?”

  “My Latin is quite a bit better than the rest of the classes, thanks to you.”

  “Perfect, then read the Greek vase thing in class instead of here.”

  “I’ll be drooling in that book for sure, but you’re right, it’s better than having to spend my time with you nodding off.”

  “Either that or I should stop practicing Latin with you—”

  Nathan pointed at Lucien. “Don’t you dare.”

  Lucien grinned. “As you wish. I’ll prowl for a restaurant or something.”

  “Oh, by the way, would you drop off a letter for Mr. Severin?”

  “Sure. Coffee in the school dining hall first?”

  “Absolutely.” Nathan found the letter on the dresser and gave it to Lucien, who put it in the bag to be attached to his chain. They then helped each other clear the table before Nathan shouldered his backpack.

  Entering the dining hall right after a break gave the huge room a completely different ambiance. The noise level was about the same, but people were in a different mood than on any other Monday. Nathan and Lucien got coffee and sat at their usual table, already occupied by the usual students. They, too, had stories from their break—some more lively than others. One guy was always so far behind his reading that Nathan figured he wouldn’t finish the first year of school. Not even the break had allowed him to catch up sufficiently, and he too had broken his neck on the Greek vases.

  “Oh, my God, look at that guy,” Simon, the guy sitting next to Nathan, said and got up. “Hey, Rhoden, nice face!”

  “Jesus H. Christ, that guy ran into more than one fist,” Nathan said, gaping at the walking bruise, who merely smiled tentatively and continued through the dining hall.

  Lucien turned to look and shook his head. “Those bruises are at least a week old.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I got into a brawl at the pub this past week, but mine’s healed long ago,” Simon said, motioning to his face as if to make a point.

  “How hard did the guy hit?” Lucien asked.

  “Not as hard as whoever laid into Alex Rhoden, but hard enough to ruin my night and my taste for the next beer, that’s for sure.”

  Nathan scoffed, shaking his head.

  “I gotta go.” Lucien stood and leaned across the table for a kiss. “See you tonight.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And don’t drool in the Latin books.”

  Nathan slapped a hand across his eyes, grinning.

  “That’s right, I need your help with Latin,” Simon said. “If you can fall asleep and ace a test, then you’ve gotta be good at it!”

  “Ace?” Nathan asked, only half paying attention while waving Lucien off.

  “Yeah, the scores are up. You got ninety-three.”

  “Great. What did you score?”

  “Forty-two! The lowest in the class!”

  “I got thirty-eight,” said the one always falling behind. He was a newcomer to their table, and Nathan felt like an ass for not even bothering to learn the guy’s name. “You got top mark, didn’t you?”

  “I... don’t know.”

  “No, he didn’t. That girl Rebecca over there.” Simon pointed to a girl talking to the walking
bruise. “She and her brother Tavi got ninety-nine and a hundred.”

  “Impressive,” Nathan mumbled and rose from the table along with the others. On their way to class, they stopped by the scoreboard. Other than a Latin test, Nathan had also taken a test in recognizing ancient alphabets. “Yes!”

  “What?” Simon shrieked in surprise at Nathan’s outburst. He then looked at the board. “You happy to be fourth?”

  “No, I’m happy about getting a hundred in that test.” Nathan pointed.

  “Oh, so that’s why you’re good at Latin?”

  Nathan shrugged and followed the others into the classroom. Opening his backpack, he saw that Lucien had stuffed the Greek vase book into it. Smiling, he picked it up and placed it on the table.

  As soon as Nathan made it back to his room across campus, he emptied his bag to find the Greek vase book again. More than halfway through it, he’d actually found something interesting.

  “Are you here?” Nathan asked, focusing on feeling his boyfriend. Nothing, so Lucien was apparently still out roaming for a restaurant, or still with Mr. Severin and Blake. He checked his watch. No, he couldn’t be. The sun was up in Maine, so Mr. Severin would be sleeping.

  Either way, Nathan was adamant about finishing the book, because they had been given a new title today. He had stopped by the library right after class and was lucky enough to find the last copy about flying carpets, which meant he didn’t have to go hunt it down.

  Making himself a pot of coffee, he spent the wait stuffing the broad windowsill with pillows and his duvet to make himself comfortable. He’d read to the scenery of the park turning from green to a plethora of beautiful autumn hues.

  Somewhere halfway through the pot of coffee, he felt Lucien return to share his essence.

  “Welcome home. Did you find a restaurant?” Nathan looked into the room even though he had no chance of seeing him. But he felt him step into his essence for a few seconds, so that meant yes. “Can’t wait to see what you’ve found. This book actually isn’t that bad once you get halfway through it. Oh, and I got some pretty great test results. Guess studying the ancient and occult languages on your body helps.”

  He’d been trying to break the curse on Lucien’s chain since they’d met. Finally he was a part of an Order who had the means to help him do just that. He was still surprised at how much life could change because of one little thing—like finding a cursed bracelet in a box at work, reading the inscription, and thus becoming the master of a man enslaved by an occult order. Knowing that the Order he’d since been initiated into had led him on that path was one thing, and he was grateful for all the opportunities they opened up. Not just for him, but for his best friend, Jenny, too. And that it had brought Lucien into his life.

  Closing his eyes, he could still see Lucien the way he had stepped into his life—disheveled and barefoot.

  His lips tingled, and he smiled at being kissed. “I was thinking of the first time I saw you. Another memory that often pops into my head is that Jacuzzi.” More of his skin tingled, and he conjectured that Lucien was caressing his face. The sensation moved lower and across his chest before moving further down his stomach. “Oh, you’re a tease.” Nathan groaned as the tingling sensation reached his groin. Heat spread as a result of the ghostly touches and mental images of them exploring each other in a huge bathtub. “You’re so ruining my focus.” The feeling of Lucien’s closeness disappeared. “That’s no use, now.” Nathan laughed and looked at the clock. At least the shadows would release Lucien soon.

  With no chance of going back to Greek vases, Nathan left the windowsill and threw the pillows and duvet back onto the bed. He’d better start dinner and focus on ignoring his hard dick until Lucien could join him.

  Having a room halfway across campus had its perks. Like more than a kitchenette, private toilet and bath, and the room was spacious enough for two. Plus he got to walk every day. He’d seen the results of reduced activity and sometimes felt them in his shoulders and back. The lack of exercise sometimes made him wake up with pains in places he hadn’t experienced while training Taekwondo daily. That winter was approaching shut off one of his favorite exercise opportunities—running. And he was in no mood for gyms.

  Lucien stepped from the shadow with a wicked grin on his face. “A tease, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m gonna tease you. You know why?”

  “Because you think I’m sexy,” Nathan said, grinning.

  “Well, that too.” Lucien pulled him in for a kiss. “But also because you’re going to be so tired, since you didn’t sleep when you came home as we agreed.”

  “Oh, shit,” Nathan said, squeezing his eyes shut. He still had trouble turning the whole night and day thing into sleeping half the day so he could be up half the night and through school. It was worse after a break or if he’d flown halfway around the world. “I finally got into the book, and I completely lost time.”

  “I know. So I’m gonna tease you and keep you up until two in the morning.”

  “That would give me four hours, and four hours tomorrow after school. I should be back in the rhythm within the week then.”

  “Yeah. Mr. Severin says hi and wrote you this.” Lucien held up a sealed letter before dumping his bag on the table. “He wasn’t in an abundantly good mood, and he told me to tell you that I’m not allowed to read the letter.”

  “Don’t read the letter then.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Hate giving you orders,” Nathan muttered and took the letter.

  Lucien moved back where he couldn’t see and sat at the dinner table.

  An idea popped into Nathan’s head. He went to straddle Lucien’s legs and sit comfortably facing him, hugging him while holding the letter behind his back and reading it over his shoulder. “Now, unless you have eyes in the back of your head, this is much better.”

  Lucien chuckled and nuzzled his face against Nathan’s neck. The news certainly wasn’t happy, and Nathan quickly understood why Lucien wasn’t allowed to read it. It was about the Order.

  My dear protégé

  I am so happy to learn that you are settling well with both your studies and your responsibilities as the Shadow Master of Lucien. He seems very happy every time he comes to see us. I have asked Lucien to tell you that he may not read this letter, and I ask you not to divulge the following for safety reasons.

  Over the past few weeks, the Order has worked hard on getting details of a Demon seal. This stone is one I have shown you a picture of once. We knew from the beginning that we were not the only ones looking for it, and our uninitiated operative was intercepted while working on procuring the stone. We lost contact with him in Paris and did not hear anything until he turned up in the hospital in Belgium, where he had been savagely beaten. I feel bad troubling you with this news, but I tell you because it is the operative that goes to your school.

  Alex Rhoden may need your help. I would ask you to keep a closer eye on him. Do not ask Lucien to help unless absolutely necessary for your and Alex Rhoden’s safety. We do not yet know for sure who picked up on him, just that he lost the seal. He did bring troublesome news that the Templars may have been the ones to intercept him. Unfortunately, the Order knows very little of the Templars, but Mr. Henry is playing it very safe. So are Mr. Sullivan and Jenny, and they will be journeying to London for the next few weeks. I suspect she will contact you soon.

  If you should learn anything about a threat to Alex Rhoden’s safety, please have Lucien come by immediately with a letter describing your findings.

  Stay safe my friends.

  Your friend in the light

  P. S. I should probably tell you—or rather warn you—Lucien and Blake have learned that a new Star Wars movie is coming out, and plans for another movie night took up the majority of their conversation while I wrote you this letter.

  “Star Wars movie? I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the sensitive material part of this l
etter,” Nathan said, sitting back enough to see the smug grin on Lucien’s face.

  “Your dad still loves me for making you watch them, you know.”

  “Oh, I remember his enthusiasm. And yeah, I’ll watch it with you.”

  Lucien smiled and pulled Nathan in for a kiss. “Thank you. This thing I’m not allowed to hear about because Thule is still trying to get me back under their control, is that something I need to worry about?”

  “No, not at all. I’m just asked to keep my eyes open for something. It’s nothing that directly implicates us, just something moving in the Order.”

  “Good. So dinner, shower, me teasing you while you read the rest of your homework—”

  “Ha ha! I bought you a computer so you could do something, too.”

  “I know, but I’d rather read with you and tease you.”

  “Luckily, I’m not completely swamped.”

  “First day back at school? I’d have thought every teacher had at least five books for you.”

  “Three total. But it’s only Monday.”

  “Fantastic!” Lucien pushed himself up, causing Nathan to slide off his legs and land ungracefully.

  “Is that your way of saying you’d like me to cook?” Nathan folded the letter and put it back into the envelope.

  “I’d like that.”

  “What restaurant did you pick?”

  “Surprise, surprise.”

  “You picked a French one then.”

  “Not budging, I won’t tell you.” Lucien smiled, then knit his brows. “Unless you order me to, and that would just ruin it all.”

  Nathan went to wash his hands. “No, I won’t order you to.” He liked when Lucien made plans for them. He was a romantic, and Nathan loved the thoughtfulness.

  Chapter Two